A Gallery of Incredible Solar Flares

The video above features footage of the solar flare that erupted from the surface of the sun on June 7, 2011. This is the one of the most incredible solar flares in recorded history, and certainly the largest ever documented on video and broadcast via the internet within hours. Although the solar flare is only classified as a medium-sized solar explosion, it blasted over a billion tons of material into space, and the explosion measured over a million kilometers across. Solar flares blast radiation all across the electromagnetic spectrum and send charged particles raining down on Earth. The radiation from this particular solar flare won’t hit our planet, but radiation from past solar flares has been responsible for disrupting satellites, stretching the visibility of the Aurora Borealis down to the tropics, causing electronics and cellular devices to fail, and even causing telegraph wires to burst into flames. Scientists expect that our sun’s solar flares will reach their peak activity levels in 2012, so get ready: it’s going to be a wild year.

Speak Your Mind

Tell us what you're thinking... and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!